Comments (37)

That was one concern I had. Obviously I could not get a child much younger than my own, which was why I was wondering if it's possible to specify an age. I was originally thinking under 5 is safer for my toddlers.

I think you have to know that most children who are in the foster system come with lots of emotional and physical trauma. It’s going to be a full time job. Before you make any decisions, be 100% sure because fostering a child and then returning them when you realize it’s too much just further retraumatized them.

With the ages of your children, it might be a challenge.

I applaud you for looking into this, but it’s not going to be easy. Those kids have been through some rough shit.

I have a couple of friends have done it. None before.their own kids were grown and/or teens due to issues PP (previous poster) already cited. Even kids under 5 with a history of abuse will act out and can be very challenging.

Good to know that you can specify. I want to be as sure as possible that it w...

Posted
09/07/2018

Good to know that you can specify. I want to be as sure as possible that it would be a good fit for our family.

How did you get started? It seems there are a few agencies In my area. I'm not sure if I should be comparing them to find the best one or if that matters?

Try finding a local foster parent fb group. They are usually private but request an add and there you can ask tons of questions. You’ll also learn so much by reading the posts and other questions that come though. That’s where I’d recommend asking first hand about positive/negative experiences with various agencies.

I have a friend who fosters. They've had great experiamces and awful ones... and once had to send a child to another placement due to some pretty severe problems from past abuse. They adopted 2 children out of foster care and they stopped fostering (after 300 children ) last year. They had told their caseworker they'd like to foster to adopt again... they had a newborn born addicted to meth placed with them. The mother had lost 11 other children from birth over 15 years for drugs so it was a pretty sure thing.... well they had baby for 18 months fostering (2 years of placement is when they could adopt) and at 18 months the mother decided to try reunification. He was placed back with his mother..... birth to 18 months he was their baby... mom never even visited... but the system is set up to try to reunify families.... they received a call 5 months after bio mom had him that he needed to be placed back into foster care and did they want him while mom went to rehab. They had to decline... they said it was the hardest thing they've ever went through... and they stopped fostering completely. They said having to say no to that heartbreak agian was sold crushing.... their story made me realize I could never foster. I cant imagine getting that attached then having to give a child back to someone who abused them in the past.

I have a friend who fosters. They've had great experiamces and awful ones...

Posted
09/07/2018

I have a friend who fosters. They've had great experiamces and awful ones... and once had to send a child to another placement due to some pretty severe problems from past abuse. They adopted 2 children out of foster care and they stopped fostering (after 300 children ) last year. They had told their caseworker they'd like to foster to adopt again... they had a newborn born addicted to meth placed with them. The mother had lost 11 other children from birth over 15 years for drugs so it was a pretty sure thing.... well they had baby for 18 months fostering (2 years of placement is when they could adopt) and at 18 months the mother decided to try reunification. He was placed back with his mother..... birth to 18 months he was their baby... mom never even visited... but the system is set up to try to reunify families.... they received a call 5 months after bio mom had him that he needed to be placed back into foster care and did they want him while mom went to rehab. They had to decline... they said it was the hardest thing they've ever went through... and they stopped fostering completely. They said having to say no to that heartbreak agian was sold crushing.... their story made me realize I could never foster. I cant imagine getting that attached then having to give a child back to someone who abused them in the past.

I absolutely think this would be the hardest part for me. These are the situations I need to think through. I *think* I could do it but I'm not sure yet

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